{"id":79734,"date":"2025-09-17T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T16:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=79734"},"modified":"2025-09-20T14:13:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T18:13:43","slug":"2025-bowl-projections-after-week-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/09\/17\/2025-bowl-projections-after-week-three\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Bowl Projections After Week Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to our weekly bowl projections. The past week was certainly eventful on the field. Several games went down to the wire, and a couple of our playoff teams lost. As a result, Clemson and Notre Dame are out. Who’s in? Well, you’ll have to keep reading. Off the field, it took until week three before we had some coaching changes. UCLA fired coach DeShaun Foster while Virginia Tech parted ways with Brent Pry. As far as bowls go, we had the Hokies in our picks last week; however, it’s doubtful you’ll see them again. The Bruins were nowhere near our bowl radar as the program is in quite the mess. <\/a>Moving on, let’s get to this week’s selections which does feature some new teams\u00a0from last week. <\/a>In addition, we moved past a lot of the rematches. Without any further ado, let’s get to why you’re here, our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Three.<\/p>\n

More Changes In The Playoff<\/h2>\n

How The Process Works<\/h3>\n

Things are different from last season. There are 12 teams in the playoff, and the top four still get a first-round bye. However, the winners of the Power Four conferences don\u2019t automatically get slots 1-4. In addition, the highest-ranked Group of Five team gets a bid. That leaves seven at-large teams.<\/p>\n

Once again, seeds 5-8 host first-round games on campus. The New Year\u2019s Six bowls are introduced for the next round and the semi-finals. Miami, Florida, hosts the title game on January 19th. With the formalities out of the way, let\u2019s get to our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Three.<\/p>\n

College Football Playoff First Round<\/h3>\n

Friday, December 19th- (12) Tulane at\u00a0(5)- Oregon<\/strong>\u2013 South Florida’s loss to Miami further opened the door for the Green Wave. However, they have a huge matchup on Saturday at Ole Miss. Should Jon Sumrall’s squad pull this one off it would put them in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five bid. On the other side of the ball, Dan Lanning\u2019s Ducks won their 10th straight regular-season conference game, beating Northwestern by 20. They host Oregon State in the “Civil War” on Saturday, then have a huge one at Penn State.<\/p>\n

Saturday, December 20th- (11) Oklahoma at (6) Georgia<\/strong>\u2013 John Mateer <\/a>and the Sooners replace Texas in our projections this week. Those two clubs meet on October 11th. On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs beat Tennessee for a ninth straight time, 44-41 in overtime in an “Instant Classic.” These two don’t play during the regular season.<\/p>\n

Saturday, December 20th- (10) Texas A&M at (7) Texas Tech-<\/strong> We have a new SEC squad facing the Red Raiders this week. Mike Elko’s Aggies won at Notre Dame 41-40. In the process that knocked the Irish out of the playoffs and put A&M in. Joey McGuire’s club had\u00a0no trouble with Oregon State <\/a>and traveled to Utah in one of the weekend’s biggest games.<\/p>\n

Saturday, December 20th- (9)- Illinois at (8) Florida State<\/strong>\u2013 Two new teams roll into our projections.\u00a0Luke Altmyer <\/a>threw for two touchdowns as the Illini shut out Western Michigan 38-0. They head to Bloomington Saturday night for a date with Indiana in what should be a great one. The Seminoles should have been in last week, but hey, they’re here now. They’ll host Miami in a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

College Football Playoff Quarterfinals-<\/h3>\n

Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Wednesday, December 31st- (5) Oregon vs. (4) Penn State- <\/strong>We get a rematch in the quarterfinals from earlier in the year. This time on a neutral site.<\/p>\n

Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (7) Texas Tech vs. (2) Miami- <\/strong>The Hurricanes took care of South Florida in the biggest game ever on the CW Network.<\/p>\n

Rose Bowl Game- Thursday, January 1st<\/strong>\u2013 (9) Florida State vs. (1) Ohio State<\/strong>\u2013 Ryan Day’s club looked rather sluggish\u00a0in a win over Ohio. <\/a>FSU leads the series 3-0, but hasn’t met since the 1998 Sugar Bowl.<\/p>\n

Allstate Sugar Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (6) Georgia vs. (3) LSU-<\/strong> The Tigers got all they could handle from Florida before\u00a0prevailing by 10.<\/a> These two teams don’t play during the year, but could, of course, meet in the SEC title game.<\/p>\n

Semi-Finals and Final-<\/strong><\/p>\n

VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Thursday, January 8th- (4) Penn State vs. (1) Ohio State- <\/strong>Drew Allar<\/a> and the Nittany Lions will have to get past OSU to make the finals.<\/p>\n

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- Friday, January 9th- (<\/strong>3) LSU vs. (2) Miami- <\/strong>The Tigers lead the all-time series 10-3 but haven\u2019t met since 2018.<\/p>\n

College Football National Championship- Monday, January 19th- (3) LSU vs. (1) Ohio State-<\/strong> We\u2019re going with a Big Ten-SEC final.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot to digest; however, there\u2019s still plenty more to come. Continuing with our 2025 Bowl Projections Following Week Three, let\u2019s move to the games around the New Year.<\/p>\n

Filling The Void<\/h3>\n
Once again, this season, legacy Pac-12 teams can be slotted to games featuring that league. That goes away next year when the conference starts fresh with new teams. As always, we\u2019ll try not to pair them with teams they\u2019ve already played. Furthermore, with it being 2025, the SEC plays in the Mayo Bowl while the Big Ten goes to the Las Vegas Bowl. Furthermore, for the second time in three years, the Bahamas Bowl won\u2019t be played in the island paradise. No word yet on what a replacement game might be called.<\/div>\n
\n

Games Around The New Year<\/h3>\n

Music City Bowl- December 30th, Big Ten vs. SEC- Indiana vs. Arkansas\u00a0<\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Valero Alamo Bowl- December 30th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Iowa State vs. USC+- <\/strong>The Trojans go to San Antonio as a legacy Pac-12 school.<\/p>\n

Radience Technologies Independence Bowl- December 30th- Big 12 vs. Conference USA- Baylor vs. Jacksonville State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reliaquest Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Nebraska vs. Texas- <\/strong>Following another MEH performance against Texas El-Paso, the Longhorns drop from our projections and now head to Tampa.<\/p>\n

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- Notre Dame vs. Utah+- <\/strong>The Utes go to El Paso as a legacy Pac-12 member.<\/p>\n

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Alabama vs. Michigan- <\/strong>The Crimson Tide have been rolling since that week one loss to Florida State.<\/p>\n

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. Pac-12- Michigan State vs. Arizona State+- <\/strong>The Sun Devils go to Vegas as a legacy Pac-12 team.<\/p>\n

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. American\/Conference USA\/Sun Belt- Central Florida vs. Utah State\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Autozone Liberty Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. SEC- TCU vs. Missouri<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duke\u2019s Mayo Bowl- January 2nd- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Ole Miss vs. Clemson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holiday Bowl- January 2nd- ACC vs. Pac-12- SMU vs. California+- <\/strong>This will be the first time this game has ever been played in January. The Bears have been a surprise team so far and go to San Diego as a legacy Pac-12 squad.<\/p>\n

Moving on with our 2025 Bowl Projections following Week Three, let\u2019s move to the season\u2019s initial games.<\/p>\n

First Weekend Games<\/h3>\n

Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 13th- MEAC vs. SWAC- South Carolina State vs. Jackson State<\/strong><\/p>\n

LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk December 13th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- Boise State vs. Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl- December 16th- Mid-American vs. Sun Belt- Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State<\/strong><\/p>\n

StaffDNA Cure Bowl- December 17th- American\/Conference USA\/Sun Belt- Rice vs. Toledo<\/strong><\/p>\n

68 Ventures Bowl- December 17th- Conference USA\/MAC\/Sun Belt- South Alabama vs. Florida International<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Conference USA\/MAC\/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. South Florida-\u00a0<\/strong>This is your weekly reminder, South Florida and Tulane don\u2019t meet in the regular season.<\/p>\n

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- December 19th- American\/ACC\/Notre Dame\/SEC- Vanderbilt vs. Pittsburgh<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bowls Right Before Christmas<\/h3>\n

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- December 22nd- Mountain West vs. MAC- UNLV vs. Ohio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boca Raton Bowl- December 23rd- American\/Conference USA\/MAC\/Mountain West\/Sun Belt- Memphis vs. James Madison<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Orleans Bowl- December 23rd- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt<\/strong>\u2013 Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scooter\u2019s Coffee Frisco Bowl- December 23rd- AAC\/CUSA\/MAC\/MWC\/SBC- North Texas vs. Old Dominion\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sheraton Hawai\u2019i Bowl- December 24th- American vs. Mountain West- East Carolina vs. Hawaii<\/strong><\/p>\n

Post-Christmas Games<\/strong><\/p>\n

Game Above Sports Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. MAC- Minnesota vs. Buffalo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rate Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. Big 12- Rutgers vs. Houston<\/strong><\/p>\n

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl- December 26th- AAC\/ACC\/Big 12- Kansas vs. Connecticut<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go Bowling Military Bowl- December 27th- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. American- Navy vs. Syracuse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl- December 27th- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- North Carolina State vs. Iowa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wasabi Fenway Bowl- December 27th- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. American- Duke vs. Army<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pop-Tarts Bowl- December 27th- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Georgia Tech vs. BYU-<\/strong>\u00a0Haynes King <\/a>and the Yellow Jackets have a real shot at being 11-0 when they host Georgia in the season’s final game.<\/p>\n

Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl- December 27th- MAC vs. Mountain West- Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isleta New Mexico Bowl- December 27th- Mountain West vs. American\/Conference USA\/MAC\/Sun Belt- Wyoming vs. Texas State<\/strong><\/p>\n

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 27th- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Louisville vs. Tennessee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kinder\u2019s Texas Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Auburn vs. Arizona<\/strong><\/p>\n

Birmingham Bowl- December 29th- American\/ACC\/SEC- South Carolina vs. North Carolina- <\/strong>Not only did the Gamecocks get blasted at home by Vanderbilt, but they also lost star quarterback LaNorris Sellers <\/a>to a concussion. No word on his status for this week as of this writing.<\/p>\n

To Be Announced Bowl Game-<\/h3>\n

Former Bahamas Bowl- Conference USA vs. MAC- UTEP vs. Miami (Ohio)-\u00a0<\/strong>We don\u2019t know the title or where the game will be played, but we have a matchup.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

We’ve mentioned a few games, but it’s another big weekend of college football. Those results will most likely change our picks again next week. Thanks for checking out our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Three here at Last Word On College Football.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to our weekly bowl projections. The past week was certainly eventful on the field. Several games went down to the wire, and a couple of our playoff teams lost. As a result, Clemson and Notre Dame are out. Who’s in? Well, you’ll have to keep reading. Off the field, it took until week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":877,"featured_media":63917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7361,7,9,6,5,10,2,12,13,17,35676,3,14],"tags":[34009,1230,259,1231],"class_list":["post-79734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bowl-games","category-acc","category-americanathletic","category-big12","category-bigten","category-conferenceusa","category-featured","category-midamerican","category-mountainwest","category-news","category-notre-dame-fighting-irish","category-sec","category-sunbelt","tag-2025-college-football-playoff-bowl-projections","tag-meac","tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish","tag-swac"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/877"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79734"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79900,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79734\/revisions\/79900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}